ENGL1133 Essay #1: Critical Response

Argument Structure: Support All claims have to be supported. Provide support that gives substance and legitimacy to the claim. Support can come in various forms, the three main groups are: Evidence: authorities, testimonies, facts, statistics Examples: allusions, anecdotes, illustrations, scenarios Appeals: to logic, emotion, character, value, need 1) Evidence: Evidence is the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid (Oxford Dictionary) . Merely me ntioning evidence or simply providing a fact is not enough. Arguers must explain the relevance of the evidence. Weak use of evidence Today, we are too self -centered. Most families no longer sit down to eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go w hile rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Everything is about what we want. This is a weak example of evidence because the evidence is not related to the claim. What does the claim about self -centeredness have to do with families eating together? The writer doesn't explain the connection. The same evidence can be used to support the same claim, but only with the addition of a clear connection between claim and evidence, and some analysis of the evidence cited (“Using Evidence”). Stronger use of ev idence Today, Americans are too self -centered. Even our families don't matter as much anymore as they once did. Other people and activities take precedence. In fact, the evidence shows that most American families no longer eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go while rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Sit -down meals are a time to share and connect with others; however, that connection has become less valued, as families begin to prize individual activities over shared time, promoting s elf -centeredness over group identity. This is a far better example, as the evidence is more smoothly integrated into the text, the link between the claim and the evidence is strengthened, and the evidence itself is analyzed t o provide support for the clai m (“Using Evidence ”). 2) Authorities: Authorities are experts who offer specialized knowledge. These sources are used in rguments to give credibility to a writer’s claim. Example: Sherry Turkle, director of the Initiative on Technology and Self at MIT, op ens her PBS “Digital Nation” interview with a spot -on account of the young generation’s sentiment towards texting versus calling. =t is undeniable that the majority of young people today would rather send a text message than pick up the phone and actually have an audible conversation with another person, whatever the motive. Turkle proposes this virtual network of friends gives “the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship” because “the real demands of friendship, of intimacy, are complic ated” (426). 3) Testimony: Testimony is an eyewitness or firsthand account. Ed Bell’s essay on light pollution opens with his own testimony. Example: The moon is gently orange with a thin, star white bottom; its dark top disappears into the blackness surrounding it. Thirty -seven miles north, in town, it lacked the magically dull glow it has here eleven miles south of the store. 4) Facts: Facts are agreed -upon bits of knowledge that do not require further support in an argument. This is not to say that facts cannot be disputed; they often are. But when arguers use a fact, they assume that is carries its own support. Example: Even scientists who are most opposed to the idea of animal passion acknowledge that many creatures experience “Primary emotions” - feelings such as aggression and fear that are instinctive and require no conscious thought. A laboratory rat that has never encountered a cat, for exa mple, will still freeze if it is exposed to the smell of this predator. 5) Statistics Statistics are figures drawn from surveys, experimentation, and data analysis. Example: About 1983 -1984 the unemployment rate was at its highest point of 10%, however, it has decreased over the years by 2007 it was about below the 4% mark. The correspondence between the shadow economy and unemployment rate is about 0.90, which shows the “structural link” between the two. By looking at this chart one could say that the way t he economy decades ago there weren’t as many jobs as there are now. The economy has become more advanced in everything which has also decreased the unemployment rate. 6) Anecdote Anecdotes are short accounts of a particular event or incident. They often are given in the form of a brief story that supports an argument. An anecdote is told by the arguer as though he or she ib an objective reporter of events. 7) Illustrations: Illustrations are graphic descriptions or representations of an idea. An illustration i s a description created to explain sensory information . Illustrations make ideas more concrete and generalizations more specific and detailed. Example: At eight o'clock Wednesday evening I passed through Union Square. It was packed with refugees.

Thousands of them had gone to bed on the grass. Government tents had been set up, supper was being cooked, and the refugees were lining up for free meals. 8) Scenarios Scenarios are fictional or hypothetical examples. An imagined sequence of events 9) Appeals Appeals are a major form of support in argumentation. Appeals require the arguer to create a connection between audience an d the topic. Appeals call on the reader’s sense of logic, emotion, character, value, or need. The writer must create the bridge between the topic and the audience. Advertisements are probably the most abundant example of appeals, although they are sometimes the least honest. They create a connection between a product and the audience. Other Elements of Argument Countera rgument Counterarguments refute claims or positions opposed to those that the writer or speaker is forwarding. =n academic argument, simply projecting one’s opinion in not enough; good arguers must also engage what others believe, and even take on opposing viewpo ints. Good arguers must counterargue. They must explain how other positions opposed to their own are somehow wrong. Perhaps other positions are unethical, unreasonable, logically flawed, or impractical. Whatever their shortcomings, opposing viewpoints must be addressed head -on. Concession Concession involves acknowledging or granting value to an opposing claim. Arguers who simply ignore, dismiss, or explain away ideas that challenge their own are simplifying arguments instead of dealing with complexi ties. Conceding certain points and qualifying others are important strategies for strengthening an argument. Some opposing points have value, and good arguers acknowledge those points by conceding them. Qualifiers Qualifiers focus on the arguer’s (You own) claims. They acknowledge the limits of those claims. By qualifying his or her position the arguer acknowledges its limitations. We often qualify our claims in everyday conversation: “=’m not saying that all politicians are bad , but many of them seem to distort the truth. Qualifiers prevent arguers from making claims that are too extreme. Qualifiers also show up as words and phrases that make statements seem less rigid. Words such as perhaps, seems, maybe, could, and might qualify ar gumentative claims and can make an argument appear more careful. While qualifiers are valuable tools for argument, we should be careful not to over -qualify points so that our arguments do not lose their intensity References “Evidence.” Oxford d ictionaries Online . Oxford University Press, 2013. Oxforddictionaries.com. Web. 6 March 2013 “Using Evidence,” Writing Tutorial Services. Center for =nnovative Teaching and Learning =ndiana University Bloomington, 11 October 2010. Web 6 March 2013